


we'll be okay

by ritokki



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, But only a bit, F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Lesbians in Space, Non-Graphic Violence, OR IS IT, Unrequited Love, actually theyre both dumb, captain and pilot!joohyun, ive wanted to write this for SO LONG, navigator and co-pilot!seulgi, seulgi is dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22227979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ritokki/pseuds/ritokki
Summary: “-We trust each other. Just, not like that. She doesn't love me like I love her, and that’s okay. That’s- it’s just the way things are. I’m okay with that.”Seulgi’s breath hitched. She winced as the door creaked open, sensors finally processing her chip and revealing her to the group that stood around the AI interface. She had half a mind to hide, pretend she hadn't heard anything, but Joohyun’s watery smile and steely eyes had her rooted to where she stood.“Isn't that right, Seulgi? The way things are,” Joohyun said. Her front was cracking, and Seulgi felt each fault like a pin to the heart.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 98





	we'll be okay

**Author's Note:**

> first fic of 2020 and i did it for the wlw seulrene have my whole heart!! i love them sm wtf
> 
> also this is very poorly edited but im excited to post so pls have mercy
> 
> enjoy!!

Navigational simulations were never easy. Hooking herself up to the mainframe, plugging cords into the many ports adorning her body was messy business, and Seulgi most definitely didn't enjoy it. Sooyoung often joked how Seulgi was challenging her title as ‘Mod Queen’, but unlike Sooyoung’s VR implants and shoddily-installed novelty mods, Seulgi’s mods were (mostly) vital to  _ The Red _ ’s business and- well, their survival. The infinite void of space wasn't exactly mappable.

Usually, Joohyun would help her, but Wendy had called her to the cockpit half an hour ago and she still hadn't returned, so Seulgi was left to fumble around, trying to remember if the top port on the back of her neck connected to the ship’s mainframe cord, or if it was the snack dispenser Sooyoung and Yerim had bullied her into installing. She had wanted a universal translator, but the manufacturers of those were always kind of shady, and Seulgi wasn't about to brave a bug. (Yerim called her a pussy; brave words for someone that wimped out of a trachea-filter.) 

The simulation chamber was one of the few rooms Joohyun had been willing to renovate. They spend more than Joohyun would have liked on replacing the clogged air-vents and fireproofing the walls that neighboured the hydrogen fuel chambers, but even then, the heat managed to creep in. Meaning that when Seulgi finished hooking herself up and lay on the leather bench, each and every time she attempted to move was rewarded with the lovely sound of skin and leather tearing apart. Always a fun time.

The simulation itself was, for the most part, a blur. The human brain was not designed to comprehend the infinite universe, and no computer had the data to, which meant that every unnecessary piece of information was skimmed past until Seulgi located The Red. At that point, they were just outside of Ruenus’ atmosphere, having stopped to refuel, and their delivery was due on the east side of Itania’s sixth moon, Beron. It wasn't far, maybe an eighth of a lightyear. It’d take around a week for them to travel without any detours - two if Wendy got her way, making stops at every other planet they passed. She insisted it was to expand her data horizons, but before she got her body, Wendy had been an AI with access to all publicly available knowledge, so they all knew that was a ploy. Joohyun indulged her regardless, to Seulgi’s despair. 

Planning routes through space was no easy feat, and it usually took hours for Seulgi to pick out the data and for her mods to record it. She had a screen installed in her left forearm just for that one task. It was handy, but Yerim made a point of installing all sorts of long-forgotten Earth video games on it; like  _ Flappy Bird.  _ What the hell was a Flappy Bird? Seulgi sure didn't know.

All Seulgi knew was how to make and read routes, how to make her way through the swarm of characters like a sailor through clear seas. That was her job, in the grand scheme of things, and her job alone. But, as she painfully detached her flesh from her leather perch, she found that she much preferred her job when Joohyun was also present.

Speaking of, it was definitely strange that Joohyun still hadn't returned. The simulation itself took around fifteen minutes, seeing as how it was a relatively short journey, which meant Joohyun had been gone for forty-five minutes and counting.

Now, Seulgi knew that Joohyun was a busy person; it wasn't easy trying to captain any crew, even one as small as theirs, but Seulgi thought Joohyun was doing an excellent job. She’d seen her work through mountains of paperwork in minutes, bargain with the skill of a thousand grandmothers, and she even made Yerim and Sooyoung reconcile in under three hours after they had gotten their toolboxes muddled. So, Seulgi couldn't really imagine what could possibly be taking so long.

After a quick stretch, Seulgi blindly scanned the chip in her right wrist and stumbled out into the empty corridor. 

The usual, soft churning of the engine filled the structure, and some of Wendy’s obscure music was playing from somewhere, but there were no other signs of life. No Yerim trying to fix things that weren’t broken, no Sooyoung telling her it was unnecessary before caving and joining in what would inevitably become a waste of three days and a large portion of their disposable income. It was a rare moment of peace, but Seulgi couldn't find it in her to enjoy it. 

Her head was just clearing away the haze left behind by the simulation when she began to make her way towards the cockpit, scanning her way through the doors. Upon passing the kitchen, she stopped to grab some of the secret snacks she and Joohyun kept behind the basket of freeze-dried peaches that no one dared to touch. It may have taken them three days to come up with that hiding spot, but, god, did it work.

Her ears turned deaf while she reminisced - by the time she heard Joohyun’s voice, she had already scanned her wrist and the cockpit door’s years-old systems were whirring as they processed the action.

“-We trust each other. Just, not like that. She doesn't love me like I love her, and that’s okay. That’s- it’s just the way things are. I’m okay with that.”

Seulgi’s breath hitched. She winced as the door creaked open, sensors finally processing her chip and revealing her to the group that stood around the AI interface. She had half a mind to hide, pretend she hadn't heard anything, but Joohyun’s watery smile and steely eyes had her rooted to where she stood.

“Isn't that right, Seulgi? The way things are,” Joohyun said. Her front was cracking, and Seulgi felt each fault like a pin to the heart.

“Joohyun, I-” ‘I’ what?  _ I didn't know _ ? _ I’m sorry _ ? _ I wish I could help _ ? A lie, an excuse, and an empty promise. Joohyun would see right through her, as she always did.

“Don't worry about it. I’m- it’s fine.” Joohyun walked by Seulgi without another word. Seulgi may struggle more in the ‘reading Joohyun’ department, but she wasn’t blind - it was a lie. The message behind said lie was more difficult to decipher. To stay, or to follow? Seulgi couldn't decide. Sooyoung could, though.

“If you don't go after her right now-”

Seulgi spun around before she could finish and let her feet carry her in the direction of her and Joohyun’s dorm. She couldn't help but think, maybe it was the right decision. Maybe. 

*

“You're too obvious,” was the first thing Joohyun said after Seulgi’s third attempt to scan her shaking wrist and the doors slid open.

Seulgi cleared her throat, hoping for some speech to magically sprout into existence, but at the sight of Joohyun sitting cross-legged on their bed, hunched over a wad of paperwork she had dragged from her desk, all the words in Seulgi’s vocabulary disappeared and she was left fumbling over nothing. All she could cough out was, “Sorry.” An excuse. 

Joohyun sighed, placed her papers to the side and patted the space next to her. “C’mere. Sit.” Seulgi plopped down immediately, drawing a laugh from Joohyun.

She pouted. “Stop laughing at me.”

“In my defence,” Joohyun began once she had calmed down enough to stare Seulgi right in the eye, as she always did. This time though, Seulgi noticed something new; or maybe it had been there the entire time. Maybe. “You're too cute. I guess that’s why I couldn't help but fall for-” Joohyun cut herself off, gaze focussing on their woollen rug as she kicked her legs back and forth. (The rug had been a gift from Joohyun’s parents, once she had inherited their ship and business. Seulgi remembered the day vividly, and the night even more. The day she escaped the bounds of her home was a monumental one, after all.)

Before Seulgi could say anything, Joohyun piped up. “I won't say it again.” Painting her face was the dreariest of blues; a bittersweet sadness that chipped away at Seulgi’s heart. It was hard to watch, even harder to feel.

The question in the air needed no vocalisation, so Joohyun made short of her answer. To Seulgi, it seemed to draw on for an eternity.

“It makes it real.”

One of the first rules of making a crew is being open. Being stuck in a limited space with limited privacy for months on end drives people - humans especially - positively insane, so communication was key. And, having been friends for longer than either of them would be willing to admit, Joohyun and Seulgi were good at that. Feelings, however, required a bit more coaxing, and without any mild intoxicants flowing through her veins and lowering her inhibitions, Seulgi was at a loss for words.

Instead, she did the only thing she could and pulled Joohyun gently by the back of her neck to rest her head on her shoulder. Joohyun settled immediately - it wasn't unfamiliar. 

There, Joohyun cried. Quiet, poorly-stifled sobs rang out into the room and all Seulgi could do was listen.

The expanses of space were endless. Every day, they travelled distances most couldn't even fathom, getting closer and closer to an end which will never arrive. Around them were thousands of worlds, some discovered, some that will never be discovered. There was no ‘end’ in space.

So why did it feel like the universe was crumbling in her arms?

Even with the chaos of her mind and the ground threatening to give way under her, Joohyun’s next words cut through the air at lightspeed. They became lost, floating listlessly, wayward in the distances between them. (One day, maybe Seulgi could catch them. Maybe, but not today.)

“I’ll be okay, tomorrow.”

(Maybe tomorrow.)

*

It took them just over a week to reach Beron. Wendy had been uncommonly quiet, requesting only a fraction of the pit stops she did on any other journey.

The reason? Seulgi. Joohyun had done exactly as she said and recovered in under twelve hours, at least to the eye, but Seulgi had been feeling particularly… off. 

When she had something to do, like helping Joohyun to pilot their way through asteroid fields and trash planets, clearing the mess in the kitchen, making sure Wendy was fully charged whenever they were away from the ship, it was nothing. She didn't even notice. But as soon as there was a moment to  _ think, _ one of the rare moments of silence, it was suddenly as though she was being sucked into the vacuum that surrounded them from all sides. Suddenly, the infinite void seemed an awful lot smaller. Any and all thoughts she had were about the same topic - Joohyun. 

It wasn't as if she and Joohyun interacted any less; they still shared a bed, still cooked together, still complained about noisy air filters. But, something was different. 

Maybe, Seulgi was overthinking. Maybe she wasn't gravitating towards Joohyun whenever they stood next to each other; maybe there was no need for her to back away so suddenly all the time. Maybe she was just reading into Joohyun’s flat tone every time it happened. 

Hypotheticals did nothing to quash the anxiety. Usually, Joohyun did, but now? It was Joohyun that caused the dumb, fluttering sensation in Seulgi’s chest.

Sooyoung had taken the liberty of explaining what had prompted their captain’s confession: something as simple as a bout of mockery that had spiralled out of control. Seulgi thought it was appropriately anticlimactic. 

She tried not to think about it too much, fearful of what could happen if she left it to stew, so she busied herself with preparing their delivery for unloading. It was repetitive work, pick up one box, move it onto the transport pallet, pick up another box, onto the pallet. Once one pallet was filled, fire up the hover system and push it towards the door. And so, the cycle continued.

Any other day, Seulgi would’ve been finished in maybe half an hour - currently, she’d been in the cargo bay for at least forty minutes and wasn't even halfway done. The reason? Joohyun was  _ The Red _ ’s captain and pilot, Seulgi was her co-pilot, and really,  _ really  _ didn't want to attempt a landing with her current headspace. It was too hectic, and god knows what would happen if she zoned out, probably thinking about something dumb like how good Joohyun looked at the helm. Which was very, very good. 

No pilot could land a ship without a co-pilot. Especially not  _ The Red,  _ which was designed for two pilots to fly whenever autopilot was disengaged. So naturally, Seulgi was beyond confused when the ship suddenly lurched. 

They had been idle outside of Beron’s atmosphere while they prepared their landing, yet the ship’s robotic voice still rang out through the speakers - “Please prepare for atmospheric crossing. We are now entering the atmosphere of Planet 183, Beron.”

“How the-”

“Seulgi!” 

Of all the people Seulgi expected to see rushing into the cargo bay whilst they crossed into a planet’s atmosphere, Joohyun was not one of them.

“Joohyun? Why are we entering the atmosphere already? And who’s flying?”

“We’ve been locked onto by a tractor beam. They’re pulling us in- shit!” The ship lurched once again, and everything that wasn't permanently attached to the ground was thrown across the room, people included. Seulgi had managed to catch herself on a beam, while Joohyun hit the metal with a heavy  _ thud.  _

Seulgi cried, “Joohyun! Are you okay?” 

Joohyun groaned but let Seulgi fuss around and check for injuries, clutching her head. Before she could give any verbal confirmation that she wasn't about to drop dead because of a bump, the bay door suddenly opened. Shielding Joohyun, she pulled out her taser and crouched behind some of the boxes that had fallen.

A group of masked figures hauled themselves onto the ship, which meant they had definitely forced the doors open because the loading ramp hadn't deployed. One of the tallest, dressed in the same mismatched black getup as the others, yelled something in a foreign language. 

Seulgi felt her stomach drop as Joohyun grabbed hold of her forearm. “They’re speaking a Beron dialect. I studied it in the academy,” she whispered. “They’re going to raid the ship.”

“When will the authorities arrive?”

“Our distress signal went off five minutes ago, so, soon I hope. Chances are, these guys saw and are going to be rushing. We might be able to stall, but-” 

She was interrupted by the whirring of a ray gun, pointed at the back of her head. She raised her hands and stood immediately after the owner of the gun commanded something. When Seulgi felt something press against the crown of her head, she slid the taser into her coat sleeve and copied Joohyun.

Already, three of the loading pallets Seulgi had painstakingly arranged had been guided off the ship, into the warehouse they had been pulled to. They disappeared from sight soon after, but there were bigger things to worry about. Like how Joohyun was single-handedly stalling with a gun pointed to her head and Seulgi couldn't understand a word.

She trusted Joohyun. Trusted her to do what is best for their crew, always. But seeing her crew being dragged into the cargo bay and pushed onto their knees as guns aimed directly at their heads, she couldn't stay still.

For a second, she locked eyes with Joohyun, who, sensing what she was about to do, gave her an urgent look, silently screaming for her to stop. 

Seulgi shook her head. She ducked, pulled her taser from her sleeve and used it on the person behind her. Once they collapsed, she did the same for as many as she could, moving across the bay like a ghost. That was, until she felt something closing around her wrist.

Something blunt collided with the back of her head and, like a light, she was out.

*

When Seulgi opened her eyes, she saw white, which meant one of two things: either she was dead, or she was in the infirmary. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar figure asleep next to her - Joohyun. She considered that this could possibly be heaven, but she would rather Joohyun be not-dead, so she decided that this was probably the infirmary.

“Joohyun,” she whispered. She tried to move, but her left hand was held secure in Joohyun’s grip. She tried again. “Joohyun, wake up.”

Slowly, Joohyun sturred. It would’ve been cute like it usually was, if not for the circumstances - as soon as Joohyun pried her eyes open, she pounced on Seulgi, who winced and let out an ‘oof’ upon impact.

Joohyun startled, immediately beginning to fuss over her injuries. A severe concussion and bruising, but nothing permanent, thankfully. 

“The authorities arrived after you- your little stunt.”

“Joohyun, I-”

“Don't. Look, I get why you did it. Honestly, I was running out of shit to say and Wendy was out of commission, so I’m not mad. I was just-” with a sharp intake of breath, Joohyun continued shakily- “I was so worried, Seulgi.”

“I’m sorry-”

“There’s no point in apologising. I’m always going to worry about you. It’s how I’m wired.”

As Seulgi looked at Joohyun - red-rimmed eyes, sleep-ruffled hair, smudged makeup and all - something clicked.

“I love you.”

Joohyun’s head shot up. Seulgi didn't remember when she started crying but could feel the tears running down her face.

“I’m sorry I didn't realise earlier.”

“Seulgi, if this is just because of the painkillers-”

Through the tears, Seulgi laughed. “It’s not the drugs. I’m seriously in love with you. I have been since we were in the academy, I’m just an idiot and didn't even realise.”

“Why now?” Joohyun sniffled but maintained composure. 

Seeing Joohyun’s watery eyes, Seulgi wiped her own tears away before replying. “I… when you were stalling, I just started thinking how, one wrong word and they could shoot. You and the others, I can't lose any of you. But seeing you up there, I thought that, if we were to die, I didn't want to die without kissing you.”

From the ceiling, Yerim’s muffled voice rained down on them. “Oh, that’s gross.” 

Following it came an incessant shushing and Wendy’s unmistakable voice. “It’s cute.”

Joohyun rolled her eyes, smiling. “Get out of the vents, you three.”

“Uh, what?” Sooyoung sounded panicked, as did the shuffling that had begun from above. “We’re not in the vents, haha. You’re hearing things. Bye now!” 

With that, the shuffling moved away, and a thumping could be heard throughout the ship as they all jumped down.

Seulgi shared a knowing look with Joohyun, who grinned back.

“So, what was that about a kiss?”

**Author's Note:**

> plus some fun facts about this universe that i mightve mentioned but i dont really remember!!  
> \- the ship's fuel source is hydrogen for no other reason except it is the future of carbon-free transport  
> \- wendy was an ai but they basically downloaded her consciousness into an android body which is. very illegal but she can still hook herself up to the ship's mainframe etc  
> \- yeri was hired after they sustained too much damage in a meteor field and sooyoung couldnt cope alone but her previous boss was a dick so she lit rally jumped at the chance  
> \- joohyun and seulgi met in the pilot academy when they were teens, became best friends pretty quick and joohyun also realised she was in looooveee around this time  
> \- joohyun inherited the ship and business from her parents, hence the dual pilot system!
> 
> thats all i hope u enjoyed!!
> 
> [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/ritokki)  
> [my curiouscat!](https://curiouscat.me/ritokki)


End file.
